denise
April 12th, 2006, 01:06 PM
Garvies Point Museum and Preserve, (http://www.garviespointmuseum.com) in Nassau County, is a center of education and research focusing on the Long Island geology and island’s Native American archaeology. Through its exhibits and rare collections, the museum tries to educate the common man about the history and life of the early inhabitants of Long Island and America, right from the prehistoric days to the early days of America. The Garvies Point Museum and Preserve is under the administration of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Museums.
The exhibits in the museum focus on the New York geology and the Long Island Native American culture. Geology exhibits illustrates Long Island’s glacial history and formation of many of today’s land features. The post-glacial changes in the sea level and climate, and evolution of the landscape are depicted through systematically made dioramas. Fossils and other pre-historic artifacts are also on display.
The archaeological section details the cultural evolution of Long Island from the days of large scale migration of people from Asia to America. Exquisite dioramas portray the Indian life in Long Island and the demise of Native American culture with European invasion. A model of archaeological excavation explains in detail the intricacies of the job.
The Preserve is made up of 62 acres of glacial moraine, covered by forests, thickets, and meadows. The woods are home to more than 60 species of trees and numerous shrubs, wildflowers and vines. Also, the woods and meadows together attract more than 140 species of birds, notably scarlet tanagers and many varieties of warblers and occasionally are woodchucks, opossums and raccoons. A self-guided nature trail for the visually impaired, with descriptive signs in Braille and sighted text explaining the natural features, sits next to the museum and is one of its kinds in the Long Island.
The catchiest section of the preserve is its rock shorelines, a place where the visitor could observe a number of geological features that can’t be found anywhere else in the world. A walk along its beaches, and the visitor may encounter plant fossils, lignite and pyrite nodules washed out from Cretaceous clay, shale, and sandstone that were deposited here at the end of the Age of Dinosaurs 70 million years ago. If you have a curious eye, then you may very well spot the “Indian Paint Pots”, the concretions for which Garvies Point is famous for.
Erosional features such as alluvial fans and talus slopes can be studied from close quarters on the high cliffs lining the shoreline. Life forms that are typical of the North shore are abundant in this region.
Other than the exhibits, the Garvies Point Museum regularly offers education programs – relating to local geology, archaeology, and outdoor environmental themes – to school children and public. Also, the museum supports research initiatives by allowing the scholars access to rare artifacts and other exhibits. For those visitors looking for souvenirs, materials and publications relating to exhibits and the history of Long Island can be obtained from the gift shop situated in the museum campus.
The museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday. :jiggy:
The exhibits in the museum focus on the New York geology and the Long Island Native American culture. Geology exhibits illustrates Long Island’s glacial history and formation of many of today’s land features. The post-glacial changes in the sea level and climate, and evolution of the landscape are depicted through systematically made dioramas. Fossils and other pre-historic artifacts are also on display.
The archaeological section details the cultural evolution of Long Island from the days of large scale migration of people from Asia to America. Exquisite dioramas portray the Indian life in Long Island and the demise of Native American culture with European invasion. A model of archaeological excavation explains in detail the intricacies of the job.
The Preserve is made up of 62 acres of glacial moraine, covered by forests, thickets, and meadows. The woods are home to more than 60 species of trees and numerous shrubs, wildflowers and vines. Also, the woods and meadows together attract more than 140 species of birds, notably scarlet tanagers and many varieties of warblers and occasionally are woodchucks, opossums and raccoons. A self-guided nature trail for the visually impaired, with descriptive signs in Braille and sighted text explaining the natural features, sits next to the museum and is one of its kinds in the Long Island.
The catchiest section of the preserve is its rock shorelines, a place where the visitor could observe a number of geological features that can’t be found anywhere else in the world. A walk along its beaches, and the visitor may encounter plant fossils, lignite and pyrite nodules washed out from Cretaceous clay, shale, and sandstone that were deposited here at the end of the Age of Dinosaurs 70 million years ago. If you have a curious eye, then you may very well spot the “Indian Paint Pots”, the concretions for which Garvies Point is famous for.
Erosional features such as alluvial fans and talus slopes can be studied from close quarters on the high cliffs lining the shoreline. Life forms that are typical of the North shore are abundant in this region.
Other than the exhibits, the Garvies Point Museum regularly offers education programs – relating to local geology, archaeology, and outdoor environmental themes – to school children and public. Also, the museum supports research initiatives by allowing the scholars access to rare artifacts and other exhibits. For those visitors looking for souvenirs, materials and publications relating to exhibits and the history of Long Island can be obtained from the gift shop situated in the museum campus.
The museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday. :jiggy: